Photographing Bluebells

I haven’t photographed bluebells in quite a few years, so a few days ago I decided to have another go at photographing these lovely spring flowers.

One of the first things I noticed was how my eye for composition has improved over the eight to ten years since I photographed bluebells.

When it comes to composition what we need to look for is a way to lead our viewer’s eye through our photograph. Woodlands are very chaotic locations so the first thing I look for is a pathway to lead my viewer’s eye through my composition. This is what I have done with the image below.

Using a longer focal length such as 200mm is also a good way to create extra impact with our bluebells photographs because the longer focal length compresses the foreground and background of the picture. This makes the bluebells look closer together and makes the colour more vibrant.

An interesting tree or group of trees can create an anchor for the image creating a focal point for the picture.

Last but not least, colour. I often look for other flowers that are a very different colour to the bluebells. This creates a colour contrast which can be very striking and adds real impact to the images we shoot.

So all in all it was really interesting to shoot a subject that I have neglected in recent years. I really looked at it with different, more experienced eyes, which just goes to prove that we are all constantly improving as photographers.